Leaving Mashtayee

San Antonio poet, essayist, manuscript consultant and creative writing instructor Marian Haddad, born to Syrian immigrants who settled in El Paso in the mid 1950s, is the author of “Saturn Falling Down” and “Somewhere between Mexico and a River Called Home.” She has various books of poetry and essays in progress.

On the Way to Palmyra, the New Name for What Was First Known as Tedmore, Tadmor, and/or Tatmor

Wadi, by the way, means valley; waday is the way some Arabs pronounce it. The Waday or the Wadi (the land itself that surrounds this hotel) is a beautiful fertile valley. I was a bit sad we couldn’t hang out at this stunning hotel, very resort-like, with a large pool and sprawling pool grounds nestled in back of the hotel, facing and surrounded by green mountains. We have so many places to see and are unable to take leisurely time, as it were, to sit at the pool or sleep late.

Today, after having yesterday visited Dar Mar Georges, the Monastery of St. George, in the lush mountains of Mashtayee, and after having been invited to a major dinner event, hosted just for us visiting Syrian Americans, an invitation extended by Father Jihad and Salwa Michael who are spending the summer at their home in the nearby Kamea, we will head toward the famed and mysterious Palmyra (Tedmore).

A Bedouin woman and son around the Palmyrene ruins selling jewelry and blankets.

Palmyra is an ancient city, long before Christ. . . . I urge readers to please visit the Wikipedia site on this to glean the importance of this city and the import of it during ancient times. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmyra There is too much to tell in a blog entry, so much to learn!

The thing I thought interesting was that most of the hotel rooms, if not all of the hotel rooms in Palmyra, boasted a funerary bust of ZENOBIA, the famous third century Palmyrene queen who many current Syrian-Americans refer to as “im-dul-il-ee” which means “spoiled” and slightly “high-maintenance”.

We learned or re-learned that so much started here, in Syria. For instance, the first alphabet is often said to have started in Ugarite/Ugarit, another highly important ancient Syrian site near Latakkia in Northwest Syria, not so far from the sea. There is a debate as to whether the first alphabet was Ugaritic or Phoenician. Also, many Syrians and some historians comment that even the first musical note was created in Syria, as well as the religions . . . some say, “it all started here,” long before monoetheism, Amer, our tour guide, reminds. “This is why we call Syria the Cradle of Civilization.” Here is a website to visit on Ugarit/Ugarite.

With all this talk about Palmyra and Ugarit references being made, my sister Sada asks, “What about Israel and the Bible’s mention of Israel?”

“Yes, Jericho, for instance, is an ancient site. However, Israel was part of Syria, there was nothing called Israel or Jordan or Lebanon then. It was all Syria,” Amer explains; he’s not only our tour guide but a very serious history buff who studied history in Damascus. It feels as if we are all students taking serious notes as he speaks. Sada, Bryan, Albert, myself and others on our tour all listen with a heightened ear, notebook or laptop in hand, digital and video cameras documenting the important history of this place. Nothing like a live Continuing Education class, an on-site Continuing-Ed class! There’s too much to keep up with! But all that we take in is such elucidating information. I think, momentarily, that I need to get a graduate degree in ancient history! So much to learn! This place is inspiring.

Back to Palmyra; this ancient city located in the desert of Syria, approximately in the middle of the country, in the heart of Syria. Amer states, “However, our desert is not like the Sahara; it is a semi-desert, with approximately 100 mms. of rainfall a year.”

“Similar to El Paso,” Bryan responds.

This Bedouin man makes his living giving tourists rides on his camels.

The current name of the city, Palmyra, is said to have taken root because of the multitudes of palm trees that grace this ancient site.

In this city, many of us were unable to deal with the heat, one of our travelers had to stop in the middle of the first hour to return to the hotel and stay in bed all day, even though we were touring in fairly early morning hours, the safest time.

And I, who have had previous problems with heat exhaustion after spending an entire day at an outdoor concert in Dallas, Texas, years ago, suffered from heat exhaustion intensely then. In Palmyra, though I didn’t become ill as I had before in Texas (probably because I wasn’t outside all day, only about two hours), I did suffer increased fatigue and probably a very mild level of heat exhaustion, spending five hours in bed that afternoon, feeling someone had punched me out in a boxing round. I literally could not move. So be careful out there!

The Palmyrene desert is exciting, exotic and mysterious; it is historic and artistic. But for your own health, make certain to take a hat or a white head scarf, make certain you have, not only water, but the equivalent of Gatorade if possible; many of us were eagerly seeking bananas or orange juice for potassium.

The only hotter city we experienced was Dubai, and that was a humid heat, 42C at 11:00 p.m. or so . . . I suggest visiting Syria, most definitely, but Spring or Fall would be easiest on the traveler if one is going to be hiking through ancient grounds.

But I, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I cannot wait to come to this country again! But it will be in either April or September, which I hear from many are the best months to visit, particularly in the high-altitude villages.

For now, Zenobia and her story seem to follow us everywhere; the Palmyrene current culture does not forget her; she is at the center of everything here. This interests me because I know many Muslim or Muslim-American women who are named Zaynab, which makes me wonder if, in any way, Zaynab might be the root word of Zenobia.

Maybe that’s just me; I think everything is connected somehow, and if it isn’t at first sight, I like to think that further explorations might prove that, yes, there is a bond between names, countries, cultures, and traditions. VIVA SYRIA! I get it now, THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION, entirely live, not on Memorex or the glossy pages of a coffee table book, but in front of our very own eyes, as we walk these ancient grounds.